Your Existence
by Hirono
Summary: What was Aizen thinking about when he was explaining his ulterior motive to Ichigo? Could there be a hidden story among Aizen, Isshin, and Masaki? Spoilers for Ch 397.
1. Prologue

Summary: What was Aizen thinking about when he was explaining his ulterior motive to Ichigo? Could there be a hidden story among Aizen, Isshin, and Masaki? Spoilers for Ch 397. One-shot

This is my first fanfic ever. I took the second half of Ch397 and added my own spin to it, so it's quite short. Might seem a little stretched and that you may find some grammatical errors here and there…Hopefully you'll enjoy it regardless.

Warning: Spoilers for Ch 397

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Tite Kubo does. The translated words are from mangastream

* * *

"I wanna…ask you one thing," said Ichigo slowly, unable to look up as he spoke.

Aizen merely gazed at Ichigo. He knew what Ichigo would ask, but that did not mean he would like to answer his question.

"You said it just now…that you believe I possess the finest raw materials for your research."

Aizen turned away, unwilling to look at Ichigo as he continued desperately, "Why? Where is the proof for that belief?

"If you've been watching me from the moment I met Rukia, then let's hear it…When did you gain that conviction?!"

Though Ichigo would not see it, Aizen closed his eyes for a moment, willing himself not to remember the details as he responded.

"…From the beginning."

Aizen could not help it – the face of Masaki flashed before his eyes. Truly, he did not expect anything less from Masaki's son. Nor did he expect anything less from the offspring of an ex-captain.

"Don't give me that," rattled Ichigo, still not knowing.

"Do you still not understand?" said Aizen, slightly angry now, "I said: From the beginning."

Although usually having a composed face, only those who knew him very well (and there were not many) could have sworn to see the pain in his eyes as he turned to face Ichigo, "I have known about you from the day you were born," said Aizen as he stared at the son of an exiled shinigami captain and Masaki, whose journey so far, though unbeknownst to Ichigo back then, has been orchestrated by his hands.

Ichigo widened his eyes, undoubtedly shocked. He was barely about to utter, "Wh..at?"

"You have led a special existence from the moment of your conception," Aizen continued with an almost undetectable agonized smile. Saying these words left a bitter taste in his mouth. He was not surprised at Ichigo's lack of knowledge of his own heritage as he said, "Because you're a shinigami and a-"

A blade was suddenly struck down, but Aizen merely side-stepped to avoid the strike, smirking only slightly at the all-too-familiar ripple of a white haori.

"You talk too much," Kurosaki Isshin stood in front of his bewildered son with his katana at hand, poised as though to protect him from the one horrifying truth Aizen was about to reveal, "Aizen."

* * *

I'm sorry that it's so short x.x


	2. The Beginning

Thanks for all the reviews xD They are the reason why I'm continuing this story. Special Thanks to xxFluffy for proof-reading this chapter xD

This chapter will be a bit short (again) but at least longer than the prologue. I kinda needed this chapter for the next few chapters to come. Hopefully I can write as much as possible in between studying for finals . And that you won't find it too far-fetched or too ooc.

Warning: Spoilers for Ch397

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or you can see how messed up it can be

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Chapter 1 - The Beginning

"Every beginning comes from some other beginning's end" – Seneca

* * *

_From the very beginning…_

21 years ago

It was raining in Karakura Town. Black, ominous clouds hovered above the small town, as though threatening the very existence of it. The people of the town walked across the streets hurriedly to avoid getting soaked from the rain. Despite the depressing weather, the residences of Karakura Town still have to make their living, and so they continued on with their life, oblivious anything else other than that of their own world. It was just another ordinary day for Karakura Town.

Though no one would see it, a Senkaimon slowly opened somewhere above the town's river in the sky through the haze and mist.

* * *

Aizen strolled leisurely down the corridor, smiling to his subordinates as he greeted them. They all hastily bowed and said, "Good morning, Aizen-taichou!" No one, however, saw through his façade, his troubled thoughts that he carried with him.

Aizen had been researching Squad Zero all these years, to his annoyance, he might add. Albeit he must work in secret, this is no excuse for him gathering so little information ever since Kyoraku Shunsui and Shinji Hirako mentioned about it. Anything concerning the King was highly classified to the point which Aizen doubted even the Captain-Commander Yamamoto knew very much about it.

However, he had not been idle for all these years. He continued his research in Hollows, Arrancars, and Hollowfication incessantly. So far all of his creation had been failures, unable to produce any hollows that were even remotely close to being a shinigami-hollow hybrid. Hollows that can hide their reiastu, hollows that can dissolve zanpakuto…none of them were even close to perfect. Of course, he now knew where Urahara Kisuke had hid the Hogyoku, and it took all of Aizen's pride and collectiveness not to lay his hands on it. As a researcher, Aizen was determined to discover the knowledge of hollows himself, at least for now. Until the time comes, he would rely on his own power.

Needless to say, it had been some long and frustrating years after he silenced his subjects 80 years ago.

Aizen finally reached his office, closing the door softly. He gradually walked towards his desk, pulled out a file he kept hidden in between his desk, and stared at the one and only fruitful research he had made on Squad Zero.

"Kurosaki Isshin…"

* * *

Unnoticed by the humans, two dark figures emerged from the Senkaimon in the sky. The first person was definitely a man, with short jet-black hair, a hook nose, and un-kept facial hair. The second figure was slim and was a female, but her face was covered by pieces of embroidered cloth hanging from the edge of her hat.

"Masaki-hime-sama, please make sure you keep the hat on at all times while we stay at the real world, you cannot be found travelling here." The male figure stated seriously.

Masaki lifted her cloth slightly in order to see the male figure more clearly, revealing kind and warm brown eyes as she said, "Isshin, how many times do I have to tell you? When there are no other people around, you can just call me Masaki."

"Addressing royalty without their appropriate honorific is unacceptable, Masaki-sama," Isshin said, and quickly added before Masaki could protest, "Even if we have known each other for a very long time."

"Isshin, you can be so inflexible sometimes. You don't hear me using the 'royal speech' when I'm talking to you. Besides, we're not really allowed here anyways. Since we're outside of law, such things are meaningless," said Masaki softly, "Don't forget, the reason for me to come here was to escape from all of that, however briefly."

Masaki descended onto the grass beside the river, and Isshin followed. Masaki had to hold onto the embroidered cloth to see the rain pouring down, forming puddles as the little water droplets gather together. Some puddles, overflowing with water, drained and flowed towards the river, and became a part of the river that gushed towards the ocean.

"You know, Masaki-sam-" Isshin stopped himself, "Masaki, the real world is much better when the sun is shining."

"No, I think the rain is nice too. It feels as though…it's cleansing one's soul from its worries."

They stood there for a while, taking in the scenery. It was not long before Masaki smiled and said, "Do I really have to wear this hat while we travel? It's going to be such a pain when I go sight-seeing."

Masaki definitely did not want to be confined, thought Isshin. Isshin knew Masaki, once she made up her mind, was impossible to dissuade. He reminded himself that they are acting outside of the 'laws' as he said slowly, "Well, I have heard that there is this shop somewhere in this town…"

* * *

It's short I know :( But I can promise that future chapters will be longer (with much more action I suppose).

Some notes:

- 'Senkaimon' - the "portal" through which Shinigami enters the real world. The one Isshin and Masaki used was a normal one (even though Masaki was supposed to enter from King's Realm) was because they're trying to visit the real world secretly. I'm pretty sure someone would notice if the king's gate was opened.

-'hime' = princess

-Yes, Masaki's wearing a hat similar to Rurichiyo Kasumioji's hat

-Isshin's being stiff 'cause he's not a father yet

-'royal speech' refers to the expected way for a royalty to talk, such as replacing "I" with "We". Clearly Masaki's trying to be lax here


	3. Preparations

Chapter 2 - Preparations

* * *

"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity"

* * *

Urahara Kisuke was sitting in his shop, bored out of his mind. The town had been quiet recently, with only very few weak hollows attacking the town, nothing which the stationed shinigami could not handle. Rarely did he ever receive customers, be it shinigami shopping for soul society gadgets or humans shopping for candies. Every stand-alone businessman knows that the weather affects business – the depressing rain was therefore not helping.

Although he was exiled for 80 years, he still had a good idea of what was going on in Soul Society thanks to Yoruichi. Yet, they only see each other when something important occurs. Otherwise, Urahara and Tessai took care of the shop on their own.

With nothing else to do, his thoughts wandered to Aizen. Urahara knew that Aizen would find out where he hid the Hogyoku eventually, but for now it seems that Aizen had no use for it. What Aizen is truly planning by experimenting hollow-shinigami hybrids, Urahara could only guess. For now, all he could do was to wait for Aizen to make his move.

His eyes widened slightly when he sensed an unknown shinigami's reiastu suddenly appeared in front of his store. Urahara remained still. It was not unusual for shinigami to enter the real world once in a while, plus he did not know all shinigami's identity after all. What bothered him was that he did not notice a shinigami entering Karakura town before they were literally in front of his store.

"Urahara Shouten. It's this place alright," muttered a deep voice.

Urahara squeezed his cane tightly once before relaxing his grip. Only those who have vast and strong reiastu can disguise themselves this well, signifying that whoever this customer was, he must be really strong. Regardless, when the shop's door was opened, Urahara lowered his head, covered his face with his fan subconsciously as he said cheerfully, "Welcome to Urahara Shouten~ What can I do for you today?" Peering over his fan, he saw a middle-aged looking man and a female wearing a draped hat entering the store shyly. When he saw the fastened haori worn by the man, however, he nearly dropped his fan.

"I was told that you rent untraceable gigai(s) here. Do you by chance have any in stock right now?" The man inquired, staring intently at the shopkeeper.

Urahara only hesitated for a moment before uttering, "Of course we do! Do come in, the rain is so dreary, and it wouldn't be very nice of me to keep you outside." He noticed that both of their clothes were completely soaked. "Why don't you dry yourself off while I go to get the product?" The customer did not have enough time to protest before Urahara shouted, "Tessai!" A large, tanned man with braided hair and glasses jumped out from nowhere and somehow was able to crouch in kneeling position in mid-air. He slammed his fists onto the floor to stop his momentum and said, "Yes, Boss?"

"Can you bring some towels for these lovely customers?"

"Of course," Tessai disappeared in a flash, only to reappear immediately with two fresh white towels in his hands. He handed the towels to the two customers. "Here you go."

"Thank you," said the woman. "It's very nice of you." Both of the customers seemed shocked to see tears of gratitude glistening from Tessai's eyes.

"Please wait here for a bit while I go to retrieve the gigai(s). In the meantime, take a look around for any other products you may be interested in~!" Urahara said lightly. Yet, in the back of his mind, he wondered why a Squad Zero member (accompanied by a female who had to be a royalty) would ever appear on the face of the human world.

* * *

_Kurosaki Isshin. An orphan born in Rukongai District 78. He completed Shinigami Academy in two years. Previously a Squad 3 Captain, he retired after 30 years of service. He was a specialist in the affairs of human world. Though retired, some evidences point that he still appears in the human world once in a while._

Aizen sat in his office, reading Kurosaki Isshin's short profile for what felt like the thousandth time. Normally, when a captain is promoted to Squad Zero, the captain is pronounced as "retired". All previous records of that captain would then be gradually erased from the face of Soul Society's history. Aizen originally wanted to find more information about Kirio Hikifune, but all files relating to her past were already destroyed due to her amiable personality. Aizen, for one, knew that Captain Hikifune was a kind, motherly captain in Squad 12, yet she kept to herself mostly, allowing only tiniest of her true emotions to be shown.

The only way to find more information, Aizen decided, was to try the Kuchiki noble house's historical files. The Kuchiki clan was responsible to keep a complete record of Soul Society's history, so only by the slimmest chance would the files about promoted captains be kept. He took careful precautions and planning before he entered the Kuchiki's History Warehouse. Rows and rows of soul society untold history lined the walls, yet Aizen had eyes only for one particular event.

However, if Aizen was looking for Hikifune's detailed files, he was disappointed. All he ever found was this one thin book that documented the names of captains who were promoted and the era in which they were promoted. During his time as a shinigami, only two captains were promoted to Squad Zero. One was obviously Hikifune, and the other…Kurosaki Isshin. The only reason why Isshin's profile was slightly more documented than the others, Aizen could only guess, was due to his origins. Aizen would have to thank the arrogance of the nobles for this.

Aizen was still deep in thought when he was interrupted by a knock on his door. Aizen composed himself, plastered a smile on his face before saying, "Come in."

The door slid open, revealing a grinning, fox-faced captain, "Good afternoon, Aizen-taichou."

"Ichimaru-taichou, what can I do for you today?" Aizen said calmly.

"Ah, well, it's nothing too important really," Gin said slyly, closing the door as he said so, "It just so happens that someone of your interest was seen visiting the shop of an old friend of ours in Karakura Town." Naturally, Aizen had been keeping an eye on Urahara, and ever since learning that Kurosaki Isshin dropped by the human world once in a while, Aizen had kept an even closer look on the human world. It was most fortunate and fateful, therefore, for Isshin to appear there. A flash of red gleamed through Aizen's eyes as his façade slipped slightly on hearing this wonderful news.

"Such an interesting location he decides to show up in," Aizen said, "does he have any company?"

"The reports say that he was with a woman wearing a nice hat. My, my, I do wonder what they're trying to buy there," Gin's smirk widened, adding in a slightly more business-like tone under Aizen's stare, "They were hiding their reiastu, so I bet they're probably looking for those sneaky reiastu-hiding gigai(s). What will you do?"

Aizen smiled confidently in response, "To take advantage of the situation, of course."

* * *

"I'm Kurosaki Isshin, and this is Suzuki Masaki. Nice to meet you," said Isshin curtly.

Urahara made the customers sit inside of his store. Tea was served. Urahara simply could not sell his gigai(s) without getting more information about them…under the guise of informing them about the gigai(s), of course.

"Hai, hai! These are the gigai(s) that you're looking for~!" Urahara pointed at the two large boxes in the small room, "I can assure you that they are in top condition! Your room is also ready. Now, about the method of payment…"

"Can I pay using Bounty rewards?" Isshin took out his black, ancient-looking Soul Pager, silently grateful that he did not spend much during his time in Gotei 13 (for they could not use the royal reserve)

"Sure." Urahara held onto the Soul Pager, paused for a moment before saying ominously, "Though I must warn you, you can't stay in these gigai(s) for too long, because the substance used for this particular gigai will deteriorate your spiritual powers. Eventually, you will lose all of your spiritual powers and turn into a normal human spirit." Urahara snapped his fan close and said airily, "However, that wouldn't been a problem if you don't stay too long in it~"

"What's the time limit before you turn into a human?" Isshin asked.

"This is still a new prototype, so optimistically you can stay in it for two months."

"That should be long enough," Isshin muttered. Masaki, who was sitting beside Isshin, shifted slightly.

"Oh and one more thing, it's hard to get out of that gigai in an emergency," Urahara eyes peered towards Masaki, "I'll give you a discount! We have Soul Candy, and even this new badge-"

"Well, hopefully your gigai(s) work well enough so that we won't attract any unwanted attention," a slightly annoyed Isshin cut Urahara off, "Thank you very much for your help, though I would appreciate if you keep this business quiet."

"Of course, of course, us businessmen know how to keep trade secrets~" Urahara said. Once the customers were secured in their gigai(s), he ushered them out of his shop, handing them an umbrella as the rain was still pouring heavily, though not as heavy as before. He silently mused that his customers' errands were less work-involved than he originally thought. Not only that, but he had an intuitive feeling that something was going to happen. He will keep an eye on them during their stay, hoping desperately that he would be the only one doing so.

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A/N: Thank you so much for all the favourite/alerts/reviews :)

I'm not really sure what the plural form for gigai, so I just added the (s) at the end

Next chapter is going to take a while


	4. The Princess and the Cowherd

A/N: Sorry for the VERY late update – I had finals. Also, this chapter took some researching, and that took especially long. But now I'm done the chapter! Updatings will be quicker from now on (I hope) AND this chapter is a tinnie bit longer =D

Again, thank you so much for your support/patience :)

Quite a bit of fluff in this chapter, but what's a romance story without fluff? The angst part comes later xD

The bracketed numbers show some notes that I thought that should be put in at the end of the chapter. I know it's annoying to keep scrolling down to see them, but they kind of ruin the mood of the story

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Chapter 3 – The Princess and the Cowherd

"Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him" – Aldous Leonard Huxley

* * *

Isshin and Masaki explored the town. It was a rather hot day, though not stuffy as it rained recently. Isshin explained some of the basic human interactions as Masaki had never stepped foot in the human world before. The Royal family secluded themselves from the shinigami world, even more so from the human world, but nevertheless assigned some members of Squad Zero to carry out top-secret missions from century to century. Not that Isshin had one yet since he had only been with the Royal Family for a relatively short time. As the youngest daughter of the Royal Family, Masaki was most curious about the human world. She was not allowed, however, to learn anything about the human world until she is deemed worthy. Unsatisfied, Masaki often secretly asked Isshin snippets of the human world. But there is only so much one can ask – to experience it, in Masaki's point of view, was much, much better.

Isshin, meanwhile, was sweating a bit. He had not been to the human world for quite a while, and the world changed quite a bit (since when was there…what did they call it…the machine of vendors?)[1] He was hoping that he would not disappoint Masaki, so he tried to be as knowledgeable as possible and pretended to be calm. Of course, he must always keep a look-out for danger, especially after that sneaky store manager warned him about the gigai. Yet, throughout their trip, Masaki could tell Isshin was always on high-alert even though he was light-hearted with Masaki. She knew he took his duties seriously, but for once Masaki would like to see Isshin actually enjoy himself.

Isshin and Masaki bought some clothes that suited the current fashion. For some reason, Isshin asked Masaki to buy a yukata[2] as well. As for why, Masaki could only guess. Isshin looked around in the store for his yukata while Masaki was putting on the yukata with the store assistant.

"So how do I look?" Masaki asked. Isshin stopped entirely to stare at Masaki. The yukata was black with thin silver stripes aligned with the cutting of the fabric. Pink and blue flowers splattered all across the yukata. A light pink and yellow obi, tied around Masaki's waist with a black string, completed the outfit. The yukata she chose perfectly complemented her skin tone. Isshin realized he was goggling and recovered himself, "Um…you look…very nice."

"You don't sound very convincing. Should I try another one then?" said Masaki, playing with Isshin.

"I mean it! This one's very nice already," Isshin said hurriedly.

Masaki chuckled, "Okay, let's get this one then."

After they left the shop, Masaki asked, "Are you going to tell me why we bought the yukata now? From what I'm seeing, the people here don't usually wear them."

Isshin said mischievously, "You'll see tomorrow."

* * *

Night befell Karakura Town. The clouds were slowly drifting away in the sky, but still abundant enough to cover the stars. Masaki and Isshin were sitting by a tree on top of the hill, looking down on Karakura Town, dotted with numerous artificial lights. Though the sight was not as breathtaking as Mount Fuji, an urban landscape had its own mystique and attractiveness. Other than the songs the birds were singing nearby, the place was quite deserted and quiet.

"Would you excuse me for a moment?" Isshin lighted a smoke, "It's something I do every time I come here, and even though it's bad for my health…it's a reminder of my very first mission. And I haven't been here for a quite a while." The trail of smoke swirled around for a few times before disappearing in the air. Though Masaki did not know the story, she knew that that mission went very deep into Isshin's heart, so she did not probe in any further. Instead, she was looking at Isshin. The cheerful and light-hearted Isshin was gone, replaced by the sad look that came across his face while he smoked.

"You hand looks cool when you smoke," Masaki remarked sincerely.

Isshin was rather shocked, as Masaki, though nice to him in general, had never so much as complimented him even once. Isshin blushed ever so slightly, silently thankful that it was rather dark, and blurted, "Well, men have to be cool sometimes."

* * *

The next day in the afternoon, Isshin and Masaki wore their new yukatas and headed outside. The sun shone on many different origami and paper artwork that decorated the town. Many people walked across the streets wearing different color yukatas.

"So, what's the occasion?" asked Masaki, curious.

"It's the Tanabata festival, the evening of the seventh," Isshin explained, "It's a traditional star festival derived from a Chinese folklore."

"Oh? Do tell me the story."

They walked across the street with many people wearing their yukatas. Children were laughing as they ran and jumped around. Isshin was thoughtful for a while before telling her the story

"The folklore is about the story of Orihime[3], the Weaving Princess, and Hikoboshi, the Cowherd. Orihime is the daughter of the Sky King, Tentei. She wove nice clothes next to the Milky Way, the star river, something that Tentei was very pleased with. Her hard work left her too busy to meet and fall in love with anyone, so Tentei invited Hikoboshi to meet with his daughter. The two fell in love with each other. Orihime gradually stopped making clothes for Tentei, and Hikoboshi's cows were roaming freely in heaven. Tentei got angry, separated the lovers across the river, and forbade them to meet. They were allowed to meet only once on the 7th day of the 7th month each year and only if Orihime would work hard weaving her clothes. They say that if it rains on Tanabata, the lovers must wait for another year before they could meet again."[4]

"That's such a sad story," commented Masaki, "It's unfortunate and must be so painful for them that they could only meet once per year. Not to mention it wasn't fair that Tentei separated the two lovers merely because of something so trivial." Masaki said with quiet anger, the story resounding with her own displeasure towards anarchy, no doubt, thought Isshin.

"It's unavoidable. To maintain the order of heaven, for the greater good, Tentei must do what he must."

Masaki only grimaced. "Such festivities for an unhappy story…I suppose for Orihime and Hikoboshi to meet even once every year is something worth celebrating for."

Isshin only shrugged. "They say that happiness is never sweet without bitterness."

They continued to walk down the street. Many food and game stands were set up inside the Main Street for the festival. The long chain of origami rippled as a gentle wind blew across. As Isshin and Masaki walked across the street, they saw that the games were really difficult to master and win. However, Masaki's eyes particularly glowed brighter as her eyes set on the gold fish stand. "Those fish are very pretty…"

Isshin wordlessly sat down and began the near impossible task of fishing the guppies with a paper net. Masaki inwardly laughed, but was very happy nonetheless. She wanted to tell Isshin that it wasn't necessary, but the look of determination in Isshin's eyes just stopped her doing so.

An hour later, Masaki held a plastic bag filled with water and two guppies. The first guppy was bright orange, even more so at the fins and tails. The second guppy had yellow scales but black-coloured fins and tail. "Thank you so very much for your effort, Isshin. I really appreciate it."

"It's not a problem, Masaki-sa…Masaki."

She would let him off the hook this time since he tried so hard, she thought. "Should we name the guppies? You choose the names."

Isshin mused, "Okay, uhh…Let's call the orange one Ichi for catching him first, and the yellow and black one, Nichi, the second one."[5]

Masaki nearly doubled over with laughter, while Isshin could only blush and scratch the back of his head. "I forgot you were notorious for your originality, Isshin."

The sun was slowly setting. They tasted several delicious local specialties, including their dumplings, ice-cream sticky rice ball, and mini hand rolls. Before long they headed to the stand where they sell specially made origami and bamboo sticks. Using a calligraphy brush they wrote their wishes down onto the paper. Isshin absolutely refused to let Masaki see what he wished for. Masaki was so very tempted to use her position just to see his wish, but thought better of it and respected Isshin's privacy. Instead, she wrote down a wish that she would never let Isshin see either.

* * *

They returned to the Karasu River where they first came, though it no longer rained and the land was dry. The crescent moon shone quietly, complimenting the soft glows of fireflies surrounding the area. Most local town people tie their wish on a special tree on top of the hill next to the town instead, however Isshin preferred the traditional way of celebrating this festival. They could both see the lights that surrounded the area where people were celebrating.

"I'm glad that Orihime and Hikoboshi get to meet each other this year. If it was raining like yesterday, then they would have to wait another year," said Masaki, remembering the story well. They walked towards the edge of the river.

"Before sending our wishes, I think we should set Ichi and Nichi free. Fishes are prettier when they're swimming freely in the river, don't you think? What happiness would they have if they were to live in a fish bowl for the rest of their lives?" Masaki reflected.

Isshin was a bit disappointed at first, but he understood Masaki's feelings. They opened the plastic bag and set Ichi and Nichi to the river. The guppies swirled around the riverbed happily before swimming away.

Masaki tied her wish around the bamboo stick, so did Isshin. Masaki took it and set it gently on the water. They both watched quietly as the bamboo glided away. A soft wind blew across the river as if to guide the bamboo stick towards its destination.

"I'm really glad that I've come to the real world," Masaki said quietly, "And, Isshin, I'm really glad that you were willing to come with me."

They were both silent for a while. Masaki started, "Isshin…"

A sudden burst of reiastu appeared right behind them, interrupting Masaki. A loud, echoing cry resounded, unmistakably a hollow cry. But Isshin could tell that the strange hollow cry and its reiastu were something he had never encountered before. A slight chill ran through his back as he turned around apprehensively, staring into a creature's face, its top half covered in a hollow mask, the other half uncannily resembling a human's…

* * *

A/N: dun dun DUN! A fighting scene in the brewing!

Story notes:

1. In case it's too obscure, he's refering to the vending machines  
2. Yukata is like a kimono but less formal  
3. Now you know where the name Orihime came from and what the name means xD  
4. The story source is from Wikipedia. I rephrased and edited it a bit to suit the story better. If you're interested: .org/wiki/Tanabata  
5. How did you think Isshin named his first-born son? xD

Thanks for reading, and please review!


	5. Meetings, Greetings

A/N: I apologize beforehand that this chapter is extremely short T-T somehow nothing much happened in this chapter and nothing comes to mind T-T I guess this is because of the onslaught of plot bunnies for other different fics

Thanks again to all your reviews/favorites/alerts ^-^

Special thanks to xxFluffy for looking after this chapter :) This chapter's grammar would have been horrid without her proof-reading x_x

* * *

Chapter 4 – Meetings, Greetings

* * *

The large hollow stepped towards Isshin and Masaki heavily. Two curly horns protruded from the hollow's mask, similar to a ram's horn. The mask covered the hollow's eyes, revealing only a human mouth and jaw. It was tall and gigantic with fuzzy brown fur, its body greatly resembling a gorilla. A lizard-like tail swung behind its back. The most bizarre feature of this hollow, however, was the presence of a zanpakuto strapped next to the hollow's waist. Isshin's eyes widened at the sight of it. He had never encountered a hollow that held a zanpakuto.

_This is no time to be shocked, _thought Isshin. Isshin was going to shunpo behind the hollow when he realized he was in a gigai; he was physically limited as a human.

Switching tactics, he held his arm in front of him with his palm facing the hollow. "Hado 31, Shakkaho!"A red fire ball formed in front of his hands and was shot towards the hollow. The fireball hit the hollow's arm. Isshin saw that the hollow appeared to be undamaged.

Isshin tried using kido again; he adjusted his hand such that his forefinger and middle finger are pointing towards the hollow. "Hado 63, Raikaho!" yelled Isshin. A large bolt of yellow lightning erupted from the tips of Isshin's fingers and landed flat on the hollow's chest. A resounding thunder ensued. However, as the dust cleared, the hollow only had a small burn.

"Damn this gigai," cursed Isshin, "The kido isn't even half of what it's supposed to be."

Deciding that he would need his zanpakuto to defeat this hollow, Isshin detached himself from the gigai. He was about to run towards the hollow as he unsheathed his zanpakuto when he nearly tripped over. He looked down and realized his gigai was still attached to his lower body.

The hollow screeched, took out its zanpakuto and charged towards Isshin. Isshin desperately tried to kick off his gigai while the hollow's heavy footsteps approached him fast.

"Hado 4, Byakurai!"

A lightning bolt shot through the hollow's shoulders, leaving a light scorch mark. "It seems like my aim was quite off," Masaki commented. Isshin turned to see Masaki shooting two other lightning bolts to the hollow, but inflicted only light wounds. No matter how hard Isshin kicked, the stubborn gigai still would not let go of his legs.

Out of nowhere, a blinding light shot through the hollow's arm. The arm landed with a heavy thud. Isshin turned towards where the light came from and saw a middle-aged man. He was wearing a white suit, a blue shirt, and a white tie with blue crosses. In his hands he held onto what seemed to be a silver, long and pointy bow.

"My, my, the shinigami standards just seem to slip year after year."

The hollow screamed into the silent night.

"You are…?"

"Ishida Ryuken. Quincy." Ryuken landed next to Isshin, pushing his glasses up, "That's quite a predicament you're in."

"Kurosaki Isshin and Suzuki Masaki, nice to meet you too," muttered Isshin.

The hollow cried once again. A grey gooey substance emerged from the hollow's shoulders and took to form of an arm.

"High-speed regeneration?" Ryuken said, somewhat surprised. He held his bow up, poised to shoot another arrow, aiming at the hollow's head.

With a final forceful kick, Isshin was able to detach himself from the gigai. In one swift motion, he pulled out his zanpakuto and sliced the hollow in half. Isshin sheathed his zanpakuto before the hollow was even dissolved. Isshin turned around to face Ryuken as he set his bow down.

"Thank you for your help, Quincy," Isshin said slowly.

"Do not take this the wrong way. I merely came to investigate the strange nature of that hollow, not to your assistance," said Ryuken disinterestedly.

"Nevertheless, you have my gratitude," said Isshin, "I thought the race of Quincy was extinct…"

"And here you are staring at the last descendant of the race." Ryuken glared at Isshin. An awkward silence settled among them.

After a while, Isshin finally said, "Very well, I won't ask questions then. Speaking of the strange nature of the hollow, I assume you haven't seen any hollows similar to this one as well?"

"You answered your own question. As to why that hollow like that would appear here...The man that was here moments ago might have some answers."

"Which man?"

Ryuken raised his eyebrows, "You did not notice? There was a blonde man wearing a black cloak on top of the tree. He left just moments ago."

Isshin paled. He had a very good idea of who the spying man is…

* * *

Isshin slid the store's doors open harshly and glanced around the store quickly. Sure enough, a black cloak was lying on the ground. Urahara turned around, his hand on his hat.

"Welcome back~ What can I do- ooof!" Isshin's foot made contact with Urahara's face.

* * *

In a small and dark room, Aizen and Gin were watching a projection from the centre of the table.

"How interesting…" Aizen mused, "That woman is unmistakably royalty…"

Aizen gazed at the recording of the fight, all thanks to the arrancar that he sent. He replayed the scene where Masaki was shooting the arrancar with Byakurai countless times.

"It seems that they have more power than I gave them credit for."

Holding an arm to his chin, he thought of what he should do next. There was not enough time to use someone else. This is something he must do himself.

"Gin, I will be gone for a while."

Making sure that his illusion was intact, he opened a Senkaimon and stepped forth into the human world.

* * *

A/N: Yes, Masaki, albeit a royalty, is nevertheless a shinigami (I think)…There should be more stuff happening next chapter...


	6. Opening from a Dispute

A/N: Hello! Long time no update :( I've been really busy these past few months, but here's the new chapter! =D It's a bit short, please bear with me T_T

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach

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Chapter 5: Opening from a Dispute

* * *

Masaki sat down quietly as she listens to Isshin's and Urahara's arguments. Both Masaki and Isshin have disengaged from the gigais, with great difficulty on Masaki's part. Masaki sighed, and wished the Tanabata festival could have lasted longer.

"You knew I had problems and still didn't help?" Isshin yelled, clearly displeased.

Urahara sweat-dropped, but tried to explain patiently as he hid his face behind his trusty fan, "You see, Kurosaki-san, I was there purely for business reasons; I just wanted to see how well the gigai was working, and I try not to mix my business with yours."

"So you don't care if people will die in front of you," Isshin said coldly, "That Quincy was even better than you."

_Isshin_, moaned Masaki inwardly.

"Now, now, please don't be too harsh on me. I knew the Quincy was going to come-"

"Yeah, right," accused Isshin, crossing his arms, "I didn't feel that Quincy's reiastu until he was literally there."

There was a glint at Urahara's eyes as he said, "Well, I've known about him longer than you did. Naturally, I could track his reiastu faster. You were preoccupied and couldn't really pay attention to other people's reiastu at that time, now, could you?"

Isshin retorted, "Maybe it's just because of your gigais."

Urahara resigned, and said instead, "Maybe," Urahara sat down, legs crossed and said seriously, "Well, to tell you the truth, I think the gigais are attaching to your souls, particularly the little lady over here, a little too well. The fact is, as we've just seen, you may be placing yourself in danger. I suggest you make whatever trips or errands you have quickly."

"Well, I don't think we'll be staying here any much longer," Isshin said frostily, "I don't want to put Masaki-sam-, I mean, Masaki-san here in too much danger."

Masaki could not hold back any longer, so she stood up and tapped Isshin's shoulders, "Isshin, a word please." She turned to Urahara, "Please excuse us for a while."

Urahara lowered his head, "Of course."

Isshin was somewhat confused, but still followed Masaki to the corridor outside. Masaki sat down, so did Isshin. Masaki was about to open her mouth to speak, then she closed it again, unsure where to start.

"What's wrong?" asked Isshin, concerned, "Don't worry, you can tell me anything. If you don't like it here we can go somewhere else."

"It's not that," said Masaki softly.

"What is it then?" Isshin became slightly impatient.

Masaki said hesitantly, "I've been thinking about this, and…you see, I think we should really stay in the real world and live our lives as humans."

Isshin could only stare, "How…?"

"Urahara said it, right?" Masaki continued in a rush, her face flushing as she said so, "If we stayed in the gigai long enough, then our spiritual power will eventually deteriorate into normal human souls."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Isshin asked dumbfounded.

"I mean, look at the humans," rushed on Masaki miserably, "They have so much more freedom than we do. I can't stand my parents hampering on me, saying whatever royal expectations they have."

"You were born as a princess, Masaki-sama," said Isshin gravely, "You have to take care of your family business."

"That's what they keep saying!" Masaki's voice went up a notch, "But how am I supposed to find myself, my own identity, if I keep living under their shadows? I want to live out my own life, not supporting someone else's."

Isshin, however, remained firm, "Everyone had to live out to their parent's expectation, Masaki-sama. You can't just leave your family or your duties like this. As your guard and as your friend, I completely object to this."

Masaki was nearing tears; she had always thought Isshin would support her decisions no matter what. After all, Isshin accompanied her to the real world, undertaking all the consequences and risks that came along with it. She knew she would take all responsibilities if they were found out.

"If you prefer soul society so much, then you can go. I'll stay by myself," said Masaki stubbornly.

"Masaki-"

"I'm going for a walk." Masaki stood up and stormed out of the store, slamming the front door as she did so. Isshin sighed and turned to glare at Urahara who was peeking from the door. "You really have to take care of that bad habit of yours."

"I didn't want her to break my front door. Unfortunately, it tends to break down a lot from angry customers."

* * *

Masaki walked by the river with mixed feelings. They have been arguing for a very long time, for the sun was already rising. She was still mad at Isshin for disagreeing with her, even if she knew Isshin's arguments made sense. But deep inside she would rather have Isshin stay with her. As she walked, she felt somewhat guilty for lashing out her anger at Isshin.

She was so immersed into her thoughts that she was not paying attention to where she was going. She slipped on the wet grass and was about to fall into the river when a strong, firm grip held her still. She turned around, "Issh-" Her eyes found a pair of eyes, hidden behind a pair of black, square glasses, too light brown to be Isshin's. "Oh, um, thank you, mister…?"

"Aizen, Aizen Sousuke. Nice to meet you."

* * *

A/N: I feel bad for leaving another cliffy after a long-awaited short update. Thanks for reading! Click the review button below if you'd like :)


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